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COOU Journal of Arts and Humanities (CJAH) Vol. 5 No. 3, 2020

Abstract
Nigeria, like many other countries in the world, is undergoing various social troubles like 
terrorism, kidnapping, corruption, armed banditry, inept leadership, electoral violence and 
rigging, internet fraud, ethno-religious violence, incessant academic and occupational 
strikes, examination malpractices, etc. The fact is that the problems above border on people's 
ethical behaviour. If people live by ethical values the problems above will be seriously 
mitigated. In harnessing moral values, to combat the moral predicaments in Nigeria, various 
persons are inspired by various ethical systems. This paper critically and analytically 
interrogates the moral philosophy of “transvaluation of values” proposed by Nietzsche to see 
if it can help to combat the Nigerian moral predicament. Nietzsche proposes that religion in 
general, especially western Christianity endorses a weak lifestyle in extolling values like piety, 
humility, prudence, gentleness, martyrdom, etc., instead of proposing a strong lifestyle of 
power, vitality, strength, etc. There is need for a reversal of the values proposed by Christianity, 
to values that enable man to rise to become the Übermensch (superman). The question before 
this paper is to discuss whether the values proposed by Nietzsche can help to eradicate the 
moral predicaments in the Nigerian society and make it a better society. Through critical 
analytic and hermeneutic methods, the paper finds and concludes that the “transvaluation of 
values” proposed by Nietzsche will morally cripple Nigeria and make matters worse. 
Nietzsche does not hold the solution to the Nigerian moral crisis.

Keywords: Friedrich Nietzsche, Transvaluation of Values, Moral Predicaments, 
Übermensch, Superman, Christianity, Moral philosophy.

Introduction
There is no nation on earth that is free from moral predicaments. The word, “predicament” is 
used here as generally understood in the English Language. The Cambridge University Press 
(2020) says predicament is: “an unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of or solve.” 
Predicaments imply difficult problems, puzzles or issues that perplex humans. To these 
problems they need to give solutions. Moral predicament refers to the challenging situations of 
unethical behaviours that predominate in the society. Nigeria like most societies is passing 
through a moral predicament as the Nigerian society is inundated with many wrong behaviours 
and evils that impede human flourishing. While there are solutions to these wrong behaviours, 
many in the Nigerian society have failed consistently in accepting these solutions of living 
ethically to create a better society. Oguejiofor (2001) writing of human predicament 
paraphrases the English philosopher, G.J. Warnock as follows: “...the human predicament is 

MARK OMOROVIE IKEKE, PhD
Department Of Religious Studies And Philosophy
Delta State University, PMB 1, Abraka, Nigeria

Ikeke7@yahoo.com
08067426895

FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE'S 
“TRANSVALUATION OF VALUES” 

IN THE LIGHT OF NIGERIA'S MORAL  PREDICAMENT



inherently such that things are liable to go badly....this inherent tendency is due to both natural 
and human factors: Limited knowledge, limited resources, limited rationality, limited 
sympathy. It is in order to obviate this tendency that morality in general finds its sense” (p. 7). 
Olowo (2009) rightly asserts that: “...no nation can survive when immoral and unpatriotic 
behaviours tend to be rampart in the society” (p. 359). Moral predicaments include what is 
alternatively named as moral decadence. Afolabi and Loto (2009) show that morally depraved 
living in Nigeria include: cultism, arson, kidnapping, rape, bunkering, drug offences, armed 
robbery, etc. 

This paper examines whether Friedrich Nietzsche's moral philosophy of 
“transvaluation of values” can help to resolve the moral predicaments of the Nigerian society. 
In accomplishing the objectives of this paper, the life and times of Nietzsche are presented; and 
then it examines hermeneutically his theory of “transvaluation of values.” The paper equally 
undertakes a description of the moral predicaments in the Nigerian society.  With this done, the 
philosophy of “transvaluation of Values” and the Nigerian moral predicament are dialogically 
interrogated. Finally, the paper ends with some concluding reflections. 

The Life and Times of Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche was born in Rocken, Saxony on 5th October in the year 1844. He died on 
the 25th of August 1900 after being insane for eleven years. He is a German existentialist 
philosopher of the 19th century. According to Lawhead (2002), he is considered to be “the 
father of secular existentialism” (p. 416).  His father and grandfather were Lutheran 
clergymen. His father died while he was five years old. He grew up under his mother, sister and 
grandmother. His aunts also were part of his upbringing. When he was fourteen years he was 
sent to Pfota boarding school. He studied there for six years learning religion, classics, and also 
German literature. He studied at the universities of Bonn and also at Leipzig. At these 
universities, he studied Philology and classical antiquity. In the year 1869, he was given 
appointment at Basel University in Philosophy, even though he had not finished his doctorate. 
In 1869 he gave his first lecture there at the university. He was at the young age of twenty-four 
when he got engaged as a professor. In 1879 he resigned from his university position due to 
poor health. Colombo (2007) notes that:

Friedrich Nietzsche wrote virtually on every aspect of Western culture-the history of 
philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, democracy, music, tragedy, and religion- seeking to 
name and unmask the decay and sickness of both Western culture and European 
society. At the root of this decadence was a cultural Platonism that denigrated the world 
and change as inferior to eternity and changelessnes. (p. 958).

Some of the works written by Nietzsche include: (1) “The Birth of Tragedy,” (2) “Untimely 
Meditations,” (3) “Human, All- too- Human”, (4)  “Joyous Wisdom,” (5) “Thus Spoke 
Zarathustra,” (6)“The Dawn of Day,” (7) “Beyond Good and Evil,” (8) “A Genealogy of 
Morals,” (9)“The Case of Wagner,” and(10) “The Twilight of Idols.” 
         Permit a presentation of a timeline of his life as given by Johnston (2006);

1844 Birth of Friedrich Nietzsche
1848 Revolutions in Europe

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1849 Death of Nietzsche's father
1854 Nietzsche enters local gymnasium
1859 Darwin's origin of specie
1864 Nietzsche attends University of Bonn, later moves to   

Leipzig
1869 Nietzsche appointed professor of philosophy at University 

of Basel;
 friendship with Wagner

 1870 Nietzsche serves in Franco-Prussian War
 1871 Bismarck becomes Chancellor of unified Germany
 1873-79 Nietzsche's Thought out of Season
 1876 End of Nietzsche's friendship with Wagner

 Inauguration of Bayreuth theatre with Wagner's The Ring
 1882  Nietzsche's Joyful Wisdom published;
 1883-85 Thus Spoke Zarathustra
 1886 Beyond Good and Evil
 1888 William 11 becomes German Kaiser
 1889  Nietzsche's illness and eventual insanity
 1900  Death of Nietzsche (p. 143)

The life and times of Nietzsche given above helps to better appreciate him. While Nietzsche 
wrote on many subjects, the concern of this paper is with his “transvaluation of values.” And 
this is what now occupies this paper. 

The Theory of  “Transvaluation of Values”
Nietzsche rejected traditional western morality especially as mirrored by the Judeo-Christian 
tradition. He proposed in place of traditional western morality a new philosophy that 
emphasises the Will-to-power in man to become the superman or “overman.” In his work, 
“Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” he gives his account of the philosophy of the superman and the new 
values that society requires. Higgins (2000) writes of his philosophy thus:

Nietzsche's Zarathustra preaches a new, atheistic, gospel of aspiration towards 
greatness. This aspiration is embodied in the figure of the Ubermensch (superman), a 
new and superior type of human being who rejects existing morality, who overturns 
existing values by affirming the positive values of earthly life and of the active, creative 
individual, and who undertakes the creation of his own life in the way the artist creates 
his work (p.387).

The superman or the superior type of human being can only emerge from those of the master-
class. Aside the master-class is the slave-class. Each of these classes stands for the two kinds of 
morality. Nietzsche (2013) states as follows regarding these two kinds of morality are the 
Master-morality and the Slave-morality. He writes that the master-morality originated from 
the ruling caste who are conscious of being different from the ruled, the slaves and feeble. The 
ruling nobles are the ones who determine what is good and not the despicable.  Nietzsche 
(2013) propounds that: “The noble type of man regards HIMSELF as a determiner of values; 



he does not require to be approved of; he passes the judgement: 'What is injurious to me is 
injurious in itself;' he knows that it is he himself only who confers honour on things; he is a 
CREATOR OF VALUES” (no 260).

For Nietzsche (2013), Christian morality is weak, perverse, unhealthy and a slave 
morality. It is unacceptable. What is needed is a master morality of the aristocrats. It is a 
morality like that of Greeks, Indian and Norse. Slave morality is the morality of those under 
subjugation by the masters. It is the master morality that is needed in order to produce the 
superman. The slave morality is for those who are slavish who live a life of pity and humility 
and lives like the herd. The slave morality negates and obstructs the superman from emerging. 
Society needs morality that espouses pride, strength, arrogance, might, conquest, etc. A slave 
morality is an impotent morality and cannot create the new society. Christian morality is a 
slave morality that endorses humility, gentleness, compassion, self-denial, meekness, love, 
sympathy, etc. Those living with the slave morality consider it to be virtuous. Omoregbe 
(1991) rightly interprets Nietzsche thus: “The salve-morality wants to bring all men to the 
same level through absolute and universal moral laws applicable to all men.  It prevents people 
from developing into strong and powerful men, for it fears such people as dangerous and 'evil'. 
Thus the slave morality is an obstacle to human development” (p. 168). For Nietzsche (2013), 
the Christian religion is poisonous and perverse. It kills creativity, innovation and the capacity 
for greatness that lies in man. 

The values of the new morality that Nietzsche advocates for are the values of the 
masters. The master-morality promotes strength, power, pride, war, retaliation, adventure, 
assertiveness, violence, ruthlessness. These values help the superman to emerge. Such a man 
replaces everything that has to do with God and has indeed made a “transvaluation of values.” 
He has gained his freedom, liberated himself and makes law for himself and is beyond good 
and evil and has asserted his will to power. Man's assignment is the Will- to- power and 
becoming the superman. Stump and Fieser (2003) write that:

By revaluation Nietzsche did not mean the creation of a new table of moral values. He 
meant rather to declare war upon the presently accepted values....Since traditional 
morality is a perversion of original morality, revaluation must consist in rejecting 
traditional morality in the name of honesty and accuracy. Revaluation implies that all 
the 'stronger motives are still extant, but now they appear under false names and false 
valuations, and have not become conscious of themselves (p. 386-387).

Nietzsche (2016) says of Christianity that he accuses of revaluing ancient values thus: “I 
regard Christianity as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever yet existed—as the greatest 
and most impious lie: I can discern the last sprouts and branches of its ideal beneath every form 
of disguise, I decline to enter into any compromise or false position in reference to it—I urge 
people to declare open war with it (p. 164).  It was Christianity that re-valued ancient values 
and what is morality in Christianity today that they claim is virtue is not truly virtue. Destroy 
and reject Christianity and the true values will emerge. In every individual lies the Will-to-
power and domination, and the individual must use it to exploit and dominate his environment. 
Universal morality does not exist. Each individual has to exercise his Will-to-power and strive 
to become a superman, even though some will continue to be weak and will never reach the 
status of the superman. 

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It is important to remark here that in his ethics, women have no value. The only thing that they 
can be used for is amusement and fun. Women are objects and properties to be owned and 
manipulated. They are there to simply serve the pleasure of men in the exercise of their will to 
power. Men are made to dominate and conquer women. 

Nigeria's Moral Predicament
The question can be asked if there is a moral predicament in Nigeria. This piece seriously 
opines that there is a moral predicament or moral crisis in Nigeria. There is hardly any country 
in the world that does not experience a moral predicament. While some nations are far better 
than others in terms of morality, there exists in every society persons who have unethical and 
distorted values. In this work, moral predicament is understood to refer to the entire system of 
wrong and evil behaviours that are detrimental to human wellbeing and even cosmic good. It is 
true that most societies have their own standards of morality. In spite of this, there are globally 
acceptable standard of behaviours. If not, there will be no basis for a global society. And so for 
instance, there are codes of conduct derivable from international laws, documents and 
declarations. There is no society that sees corruption and embezzlement of public fund as 
morally acceptable. The abuse of governmental or political power is generally condemnable 
everywhere. Acts like stealing, murder, infanticide, human trafficking, modern slavery, child 
abuse, etc are seen as immoral.  This viewpoint is in line with the framework of Immanuel 
Kant's “Categorical Imperative.” Kant (1948) postulates that the human being's actions should 
be good in themselves not simply means. This is the moral imperative. Act in such a way that 
your action is a universal law. As Omoregbe (1991) will note citing Kant, exploitation and the 
other evils occur when you act simply using your neighbour as a means to an end. 

The point being made is that Nigeria cannot be an exception to what is generally 
considered to be immoral and unethical. Nigeria has moral values rooted in her traditional 
systems, various laws, and in her constitution. Nigeria and her people can be judged either as 
living morally or living immorally.  Also, Nigeria's National Anthem and Pledge are equally a 
basis for judging what is moral. In the National Anthem you find statements like: “To serve our 
fatherland with love and strength and faith,” “To serve with heart and might one nation bound 
in freedom, peace and unity,” “Oh God of creation, direct our noble cause; guide our leaders 
right, help our youth the truth to know, in love and honesty to grow, and living just and true, 
great lofty heights attain, to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.” Love, faith, 
freedom, peace, unity, truth, honesty, justice, etc are all moral values or virtues. Whatever 
harms the above positive values should be considered as immoral. Nigerian leaders are to live 
rightly and carry out the reasons why they are elected into power. They should act for the 
wellbeing of all Nigerians in line with what is categorically moral, not for their personal and 
selfish gains.

Look through the Nigerian scene and you will realise that Nigeria is experiencing a 
moral predicament. There is a moral problem in the land. When some Nigerian leaders and 
persons live against the positive and healthy values that build human society, then there is a 
moral predicament in the land. There is a moral predicament because immoral or unethical 
behaviours are not just occurring by accident or occasionally but they have occurred and 
persisted in the land. Think of the following persistent problems such as armed robbery, 
kidnapping, environmental degradation, ethnicism, electoral violence and looting of ballot 
boxes, absenteeism in the workplace, theft, social discrimination, poor and inept leadership, 



sales of fake and expired drugs, partaking in secret cult activities, sexual abuse, internet fraud, 
419, etc. These all border on human behaviours. The above-mentioned and many others are 
wrong behaviours. They are unethical and harm human and social wellbeing. Catholic Bishops 
Conference of Nigeria (2015), Igho (2019), Jooji (2006), Bolokor (2013), Ojakiminor (2015), 
Aluko (2006), Jooji (2003), Itelimo and Ogugua (2019) have all noted the (moral) predicament 
in Nigeria in their writings. 

Furthermore, many persons in political and public office have used their offices to 
corruptly enrich themselves. Corruption and bribery in Nigeria are so rampart that the Catholic 
Bishops of Nigeria composed a prayer against bribery and corruption in Nigeria. Transparency 
International (2019) scored Nigeria 26/100 and ranked her 146/180 in the Corruption 
Perception Index. This is painful and tragic. You travel on Nigerian roads and you see Nigerian 
policemen and women, and Road Safety officers extorting money from travellers. You can 
even be beaten up by policemen and women if you refuse to give them bribe. Corruption is by 
and large a moral problem rooted in human greed and disordered values. Olurode (2005) 
writes that corruption is endemic to the Nigerian society and it includes abandonment of 
projects by contractors who have been paid,  usage of poor building materials by contractors, 
bribing of site engineers, the police collecting bribes on the road, poor service delivery, 
hoarding of goods and abuse of the electoral process, etc. Corruption is a big moral problem, 
and if it is not seen as such, one wonders what it is. 

Nigeria is gravely facing a moral predicament. In a metaphoric sense, the paper agrees 
with Ifeanyichukwu (2011) who argues that Nigeria is experiencing a crisis of moral 
conscience arising from poor leadership and irresponsibility of the citizens. He writes further 
that if care is not taken, Nigerian can become a Hobbesian state of nature. Immorality and 
unethical behaviours reign in the land of Nigeria. Chuta (2004) notes that during the 
Presidency of Shehu Shagari, there was an ethical revolution and during the presidency of 
Olusegun Obasanjo there was an anti-corruption crusade.  During the time when Professor 
Dora Akinyili was director of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency there was much 
campaign on value re-orientation and re-branding Nigeria. The present federal government 
has championed the slogan, “Change begins with me.” All these are indications that it is not 
morally well with Nigeria. Oladipo (1999) wrote of the Nigerian condition and described it as a 
form of material and moral depression because there is lack of responsibility, accountability in 
government, suppression of freedom, no equality before the law, lack of transparency, and 
many other ills. For him, a new set of values in support of social reconstruction is needed. 
Though those statements were written of the Nigerian condition in 1999 they are still relevant 
today. Using Chuta (2004), there are value contradictions undermining the ethical 
reconstruction of the Nigerian society. 

Another serious moral problem that cannot be ignored here is bad and inept leadership. 
It is difficult for a society to be moral when the leaders are corrupt and embezzle public funds. 
This happens when leaders promote tribalism, nepotism, sectionalism, ethnic clannishness, 
and fill public offices with their cronies and townsmen and women. Morality in the public 
places is being eroded when leaders punish wrongdoings but not of their townsmen and 
women. Morality is being eroded when promotions and advancement in the workplace are 
given on the basis of ethnicity and not merit. In the light of this, the paper now proceeds to 
interrogate the Nigerian situation drawing from Nietzsche's philosophy. 

Friedrich Nietzsche and the Nigerian Context

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Friedrich Nietzsche's moral philosophy looks troubling. If applied to Nigeria, it will only help 
to complicate issues and lead to a society in which might is right and the survival of the fittest is 
the norm of the land. The rich and wealthy will pervert justice and people will not be equal 
before the law. Rather, those who have the military might and physical prowess will gain 
dominance. There will be constant class conflict as everybody is striving to survive caring 
nothing for others. There should be one morality in the land, not one for the ruling class and 
another for the ruled. 

What is needed in Nigeria more than ever before is a moral re-orientation and 
rearmament that value the human dignity of every human being, rich or poor. It will be a 
society based on neo-welfarist values, to use Azikiwe' term. A society that simply privileges 
the powerful and the wealthy will be a one-sided society. The values of Christianity that 
Nietzsche calls for to be re-valued are precisely the values that society needs. In African 
communitarian philosophy, the human being is seen as a being-with-others and there is 
Ubuntu (togetherness) and Ujamaa (brotherhood). Each human being is to work for the 
welfare of society and look out for the wellbeing of others. The desire of the human being in the 
African cosmos is not to be a superman above others. He is one with others and lives with 
others. 

There is a fundamental need to re-inculcate social and moral values that have always 
been emphasized in the Nigerian society. These are not actually new values that are extraneous 
to the society. These moral values are already embedded in the Nigerian constitutions, the 
Nigerian National Policy on Education, the laws of the land, educational curriculum, the 
teachings of the religions, international human rights framework, etc. These values include: 
peace-making, justice, tolerance, truth, faithfulness, nonviolence, contentment, prudence, 
kindness, generosity, and patience.  Anyanwu and Amelo (2013) rightly note that morality is 
the “kpim” (essence) of building social order and those values like empathy, self-control, 
honesty, integrity, and care and welfare of others are necessary for society. The kind of ethics 
that Nietzsche advocates is not what will bring Uhuru (freedom) and peace to the Nigerian 
society. They will destroy it more and create social chaos and disorder as there will be 
antagonistic rivalry, competition, and warfare to dominate over others. The ethics that is 
needed is one that promotes the social wellbeing and personal welfare of all. It is 
communitarian and quest for the good of every individual. Nietzsche's superman creates its 
own values. Each individual that strives to become the superman creates his own values. A 
society in which every individual creates is one values is no longer a society. There is a society 
because people are interrelated and interacts and there is a point of meeting. With everybody 
creating values that seems rights to him there will be a conflict of value systems. Society will 
become chaotic. Ojimba and Ikuli (2019) argue concerning Nietzsche thus: 

But despite his stress on freedom, Nietzsche's philosophy was, in fact, a very 
suppressive inhuman ideology that aimed at enslaving others. The practical 
application of his philosophy to life would not only result in the survival of the fittest 
and the manifestation of animalistic and brute tendencies in man, but would also 
result in actual monstrosity. He rejected the notion of human equality and any form of 
fixed truth, morality or standard of behaviour; but this undermines our very notion of 
human rights, which presupposes a fixed and acceptable standard of behaviour. He 
despises weakness, compassion, and humanitarianism, preferring strength and 
domination. But this will only take man back to the state of nature, where there is 



man's inhumanity against man (p. 24).
Pride, arrogance, domination, conquest, and vainglory proposed by Nietzsche should 

not be considered as values or morality. They are vices not virtues. With Nietzsche, this paper 
agrees that there is innate power in human beings and desire for greatness. But this desire has to 
be controlled and used in a healthy and virtuous manner. The desire for greatness either on a 
personal or communal level should be done not at the expense of the welfare and wellbeing of 
others but also for their goodness and social success. Each individual is not a law unto himself 
as Nietzsche implies. All should subject themselves to communal morality. The world that 
Nietzsche envisions seems to have some elements with Hobbesian state of nature. His world 
will be filled with vengeance, retaliation, and conquest. There is no place for consideration of 
the weak in his world.  Ezema, Areji and Ohubuenyi (2017) buttress this fact in saying of the 
implications of Nietzsche as follows: “Possible implications were drawn from master-slave 
morality in interpersonal relationship. Moral values become relative; irresponsible freedom 
becomes the order of the day; while anarchy and oppression are celebrated” (p. 262).

The importance of values for a moral and ordered society cannot be overstated. 
Nietzsche speaks of the “transvaluation of values” by which he implies the values of 
Christianity and other traditional western values that existed before him need to be re-
evaluated, rejected, and his so-called new values of the emergence of the superman should be 
accepted in their place. He discarded the values which he claimed are values of slave morality. 
Without communal or social values that people in a society share together there will be no 
common objectives for that society to obtain. It is important to define values. Value refers to 
what is worthwhile, noble, cherished, and acceptable to a person or a society. Edem (1993) 
indicates that: “value is seen as 'a conception or standard, cultural or merely personal by which 
things are compared and approved or disapproved, relative to one another-held to be relatively 
desirable or undesirable, more meritorious or less, more or less correct” (p. vii).

There are values that may be acceptable in some societies but not acceptable in others. 
Despite the fact that some values may be particular to some societies; the fact remains that 
there are common or even global values that cut across all societies. It is on this basis that what 
one society considers being value can be judged. Instrumental values or values that are simply 
relative to a society that inhibit human flourishing or global ethics are unacceptable. Based on 
this we can speak of crimes against humanity, war crimes, human trafficking and child abuse as 
evil. There are persons who committed Crimes against Humanity who have been brought to 
the International Criminal Court in The Hague. These are intrinsic values in line with 
categorical imperative.  A society may have considered some things to be value in the past that 
today are no longer considered to be value such as slavery, killing of twins among the Ibibio 
people, etc. In the light of all these, this paper categorically states that what Nietzsche 
considers to be value is no value at all. If his ethic is to be followed in Nigeria, the society will 
be poorer for it. The poor, the needy, the mentally and physically challenged, ethnic minorities, 
and many others will lose all their fundamental human rights. Only the rich, the aristocrats and 
the powerful will reign in the land. They will trample on people who are disadvantaged and see 
them as inferior. In their Will –to- power, they will trample on the unborn child, and people who 
are economically disadvantaged. 

Nietzschean ethics offends against the values of a true democratic society in which 
government acts for the good of all and provides welfare for members of society. To use ideas 
drawn from Iwu (2006), this piece propounds that a Nietzschean ethics will lead to ruthless and 

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'senseless accumulation of wealth, greed, lack of respect for other people's humanity and 
outright wickedness” (p. vii). Since “God is dead” as Nietzsche opines, the implication for this 
paper is that you become accountable to no higher power than your drive and Will-to-power. It 
will be a world of rugged and egoistic individualism. Each man will be a lord and law unto 
himself. This cannot help in the social and moral redemption of Nigeria. Nigeria should not be 
a society in which only the fittest and strongest survive. 

It is likely that Nietzsche drew from Charles Darwin theory of “survival of the fittest.” 
This connection between Charles Darwin and Nietzsche should not be overlooked. Citing Paul 
Roubiczek, Omoregbe (1991), notes that he simply translated Darwin's notion of evolutionary 
struggle in which the fittest species survive to a new ethics that promotes power, ruthlessness, 
struggle, ambition and war. The new man, who will be the last man in history that Nietzsche 
roots for is brutally ruthless, arrogantly selfish and pompously proud and cares nothing for the 
wellbeing of the “less privileged” and 'disabled' of society. The decadence in the Nigeria 
society and in many other societies is not as a result of the practice of Christian-based value 
rather it is the neglect of those values. As Ahoyo (2012) notes in Nietzsche, 'exploitation of 
man by man,” anti-democratic values, slavery, cruelty are all acceptable as part of cultural 
praxis. A Nietzschean ethics will make Nigeria a cruel place, filled with economic and political 
exploitation, conflicts, violence, etc. Omoregbe (1991) notes that: “Only few people would 
like to see Nietzsche's ethics practised all over the world” (p. 173). 

In the moral redemption of Nigeria from her moral predicaments, the cherished values 
of Christianity and other religions will be needed. These values are inclusive of social justice 
for all, option for the poor, philanthropy, Samaritanism, generosity, respect and recognition of 
the dignity of every human person, universal love, love for enemies, selfless sacrifice to help 
others, honesty, charitable works, etc.

Conclusion
This paper has examined the philosophy of “Transvaluation of values” as proposed by 
Friedrich Nietzsche. He proposed re-appropriating ancient values that existed before 
Christianity. For him, it was Christianity that came with the values of the slave-class, and 
propagated humility, kindness, love, patience, etc. These values need to be rejected 
(transvalued) for the values of pride, arrogance, selfishness, power, strength, conquest. These 
are the values that belong to the master-class, the aristocrats who are a law to themselves and 
the creators of morality. There is a natural instinct in man, the Will-to-power, to dominate and 
strive for greatness. The paper showed that while there is nothing wrong in striving for 
greatness and success, it should be done within a communal and social perspective taking into 
consideration the wellbeing and human rights of others. From the foregoing, a Nietzschean 
ethics cannot help in resolving the Nigerian moral predicament. 



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